Parties respond to stunning Senedd election poll

Welsh political parties have responded to a sensational new poll which puts Plaid Cymru well ahead of its rivals ahead of May’s Senedd election.

The ITV Cymru Wales / YouGov poll shows Plaid Cymru rising to 37%, up seven points since September.

Reform UK has fallen from 29% to 23% while the Green Party is in third place with 13%. Labour has slipped to its lowest Welsh poll rating ever on 10%, level with the Conservatives.

The poll comes less than four months before Wales elects 96 Senedd Members on 7 May, 36 more than under the previous electoral system.

Plaid Cymru greeted the poll describing it as a historic moment in Welsh politics. Speaking on ITV Cymru Wales programme Sharp End, deputy leader Delyth Jewell MS said the results were “momentous”.

She said the findings “crystallise a pattern we have seen for months of Plaid gaining support and momentum”.

Ms Jewell said Plaid Cymru was now “within touching distance of winning with an outright majority”.

She said the difference such a result could make to people’s lives in Wales “cannot be overstated”.

Reform UK struck a defiant note, despite the big drop in support for Nigel Farage’s party. Francesca O’Brien, representing Reform, said the poll was “a snapshot in time”. She insisted there would not be “a huge amount of change between now and May”.

Ms O’Brien added that Reform UK was confident of closing the gap on Plaid Cymru. She claimed the election was “a two-horse race between Reform UK and Plaid Cymru”.

Challenge

Welsh Labour acknowledged the scale of the challenge it faces. Transport Secretary Ken Skates MS admitted: “It’s not a good poll for us.”

Mr Skates said Labour would “fight strongest when our backs are against the wall”.

He argued that Welsh Labour “delivers what we promise”, while claiming other parties “promise fantasies”.

The Welsh Conservatives, who are projected to have just six MSs in the next Senedd, expressed alarm at the prospect of Plaid Cymru topping the poll. James Evans MS said the figures would be “frightening” for the people of Wales.

He argued that Plaid’s surge represented “an existential threat” to Wales’ place in the United Kingdom. Mr Evans said he would campaign to ensure voters backed “a unionist party in control in the Senedd”.

The Welsh Green Party welcomed its historic third-place showing. Leader Anthony Slaughter described the poll as “incredibly exciting”. He said it reflected what the party was hearing from voters “on the doorstep”.

Mr Slaughter said support was building “around a campaign offering hope to politics”.

‘More work’

The Welsh Liberal Democrats struck a more cautious tone. Leader Jane Dodds MS stressed that “it was only one single poll”.

She said she was pleased to see Reform UK’s support fall. However, she said the figures showed “we need to do more work as Welsh Liberal Democrats”.

With Plaid Cymru out in front, Reform UK positioning itself as the main challenger and the Greens overtaking Labour, the poll points suggest a dramatically reshaped political landscape after the election with Labour losing it’s grip on power for the first time since devolution.

This week’s Sharp End episode is available to view on ITVX here or on YouTube here.